A SCOTTISH MP has raised the case of Catalonia’s political prisoners at Westminster, urging the UK Government to condemn what he described as an “outrage”.
Ronnie Cowan, the SNP member for Inverclyde, raised the case of Catalan Parliament Speaker Carme Forcadell, with Foreign Office Minister, Sir Alan Duncan.
He said: “Carme Forcadell was the Presiding Officer in the Catalan Parliament, a position we would call the Speaker.
“Carme has been in prison without trial for over nine months because she facilitated a debate in a debating chamber.
“When she is tried she faces over 16 years in prison.
“When will the UK Government condemn this outrage and stand up for the process of democracy?”
However, Duncan replied that the Government would not intervene.
He said: “This is a matter for the Spanish courts. Every democracy has its own rules, laws and procedures.
“We fully support the proper implementation of the rule of law in Spain and it’s not for us to interfere in the way he suggests.”
Cowan’s intervention came as Spain’s National Court set February 5 for a pretrial hearing to decide if it was competent to hear the cases of former officials of the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan police.
Former Mossos chief Josep Lluis Trapero, former interior ministry officials, Cesar Puig and Pere Soler, and Teresa Laplana, a former senior officer, were in charge of the force during the raids on government offices by Spanish police in September and the protests that followed.
They are accused of putting the Catalan force “at the service of the plans for independence”.
Puig’s defence team demanded the hearing, arguing that the officials should be tried at the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC). Last month, the Supreme Court sent six out of 18 cases to the TSJC in a similar appeal relating to legal jurisdiction.
The prosecutor has called for sentences of 11 years jail for Trapero, Soler and Puig, who are charged with rebellion, and four years for Laplana, who faces a sedition charge.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here